A tribute to the St. Louis Cardinals [Forum Archive]

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1920s: The first world championship

The Cardinals built themselves into a winner during the mid-1920s, led by second baseman / manager Rogers Hornsby, the closest player the National League had, statistically speaking, to Babe Ruth. In 1926, the Cardinals won their first pennant in 39 years, and then shocked the baseball world by knocking off the powerful New York Yankees in seven games in the World Series. The storied Game 7 reached its climax in the seventh inning when the previous day's winning pitcher, the aging Grover Cleveland Alexander, was summoned in relief to face slugger Tony Lazzeri with the bases loaded (some fans feared that Alexander might have been a little "loaded" himself after celebrating the previous day's win). After giving up a long foul ball, "Ol' Pete" then struck out Lazzeri swinging on 3 low fastballs. A closely-guarded secret at the time was that both men in that confrontation happened to suffer from epilepsy. In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, with the Cardinals clinging to a 3-2 lead, Babe Ruth drew a walk. He chose to steal second, and was thrown out, giving the Cardinals their first World Series championship.
The Cardinals fell just short in 1927, then won the pennant again in 1928, edging out the resurging Chicago Cubs and the perennially contending New York Giants. The Cardinals did not fare so well in the World Series, as the Yankees continued their dominance from 1927 and shot down the Cardinals in four straight.
Regardless, the stage was set for the new order of the National League. Innovative Cardinals General Manager Branch Rickey was establishing a minor league farm system that would produce great players and keep the Cardinals in contention for the next two decades. Between 1926 and 1946, the Cardinals, Cubs and Giants would become fierce rivals, that trio winning 17 of the NL pennants to be had during those 21 seasons.